Weightlifting for Kiwis - Discussion and support regarding the art of swole

[Tren Shapiro]

Got a question for you guys, Why did you start lifting?

In a time of universal weakness, getting swole is a revolutionary act.

 

[Big Al's Famous Pork]

Got a question for you guys, Why did you start lifting?

I needed to lower my blood pressure. Started to see a physical transformation as a result. Became a habit and just kept going. I enjoy feeling good about how I look.

 

[CharcoalChkn]

Got a question for you guys, Why did you start lifting?

Didn't want to be a weak and useless human being.

Also seeing decrepit old people in a previous job made me want to take care of my health and body as I got older.

 

[anustart76]

Got a question for you guys, Why did you start lifting?

For me it was because I had to pass a physical fitness test (I was really unfit at the time) by the army and while I was ultimately rejected on medical grounds, there was a sense of pride and accomplishment at seeing the weights and reps go up

I played the new Doom games and decided I wanted to look a little more like my idol, the Doom guy.

And Anchor Arms aren't a real product.

 

[Go Lift Some Bitches]

Got a question for you guys, Why did you start lifting?

I was super fat and my brother encouraged me. At first I wasn't too enthusiastic but eventually I grew to really enjoy it so I just kept going. I also came to be really interested in nutrition and how the body works in general.

 

[Hot Dog]

Got a question for you guys, Why did you start lifting?

For me it was because I had to pass a physical fitness test (I was really unfit at the time) by the army and while I was ultimately rejected on medical grounds, there was a sense of pride and accomplishment at seeing the weights and reps go up

It was something that I always wanted to do but heavy hours at my job kept getting in the way until recently. Being strong is a hell of a lot more fun than being weak.

 

[Johnny Salami]

I can't get into proper starting position for deadlifts without back rounding. Decades of computer time have fucked up my body. Feels bad.

Try strengthening your upper back. Do barbell rows and good mornings. For rows I like letting ot hang a few inches off the floor for a few seconds and then holding it on top. If not try using a hex bar for deadlifts. Unless you're a power lifter the heck and barbell hit the same bench muscles (though some argue the hex bar is closer to a hack squat)

I've realized that, as my training and theories around it develops, I've essentially just gone further and further back in time.
If you look at any program you would find today, most of the time it's nonsense science-meme exercises.
High rep and intense squats build tree trunk legs, pullups and rows build barn-door backs, curls and extensions with large roms build arms, bench press and deep flies build the chest, so on and so forth. Everything else is essentially refining the details of your training but the basics have worked since we invented barbells.
That's what I've noticed, anyways.

yeah I keep my routine pretty basic
Chest: flat bench, dips, incline dumbbell press, cable Flys
Back: Pull ups, deadlifts, rows, pull overs, back extensions
Shoulder: standing barbell press, side lat raises (on an incline bench), upright rows, shrugs, rear Delt flys.
Legs: squats, front squats, Stiff legged Deadlifts, hip/glute bridge, calf raises, Bulgarian split lunges
Arms: curls, skull crushers, incline curls, close grip press, incline curls (other direction), triceps pull down

Got a question for you guys, Why did you start lifting?

For me it was because I had to pass a physical fitness test (I was really unfit at the time) by the army and while I was ultimately rejected on medical grounds, there was a sense of pride and accomplishment at seeing the weights and reps go up

I'd been doing combat sports (boxing and Karate) since I was 8 and once I got more series and took up wrestling I began lifting since I wanted to be a UFC fighter. unfortunate there was too big of an ability gap between high school and amateur that I wasn't sure I would ever break

 

[Ahriman]

Which way, Western Woman?

Leaving aside the obvious - she's doing some solid squats.

 

[Lord of the Large Pants]

Got a question for you guys, Why did you start lifting?

For me it was because I had to pass a physical fitness test (I was really unfit at the time) by the army and while I was ultimately rejected on medical grounds, there was a sense of pride and accomplishment at seeing the weights and reps go up

Preparing for the possibility of fiery but mostly peaceful Minecraft PVP.

Realistically, I'd still get eaten within the first couple hours, but it's something.

 

[God's drunkest driver]

Got a question for you guys, Why did you start lifting?

For me it was because I had to pass a physical fitness test (I was really unfit at the time) by the army and while I was ultimately rejected on medical grounds, there was a sense of pride and accomplishment at seeing the weights and reps go up

I needed something to help me recover from a personal loss, and I despised excessive partiers and crybabies.

 

[MS Paint Gigachad]

I needed something to help me recover from a personal loss, and I despised excessive partiers and crybabies.

Heh, I feel ya, kinda.

Turns out a little win everyday does wonders for mental health.

And newbie gains and regular weightlifting is a good source of little wins

 

[Harambe]

After 3 weeks out due to wrist tendonitis affecting my thumb and forearm, I am back baby!

Did a workout from Jeffy Nipple's Powerbuilding program, pretty all right stuff. Deadlift, bench, pause bench, pullups, calf raises and hip abduction. Very different emphasis on working at 80% max weight, limited volume, and warmups. It's kind of hard to believe that 4 sets of 2 on deadlift was the programming, but I'm going with it. Usually I would do minor minor warmups, like a bar set and a 50% first working weight set, so this 3 and 4 set warmup with a full stretching routine beforehand is new (and somewhat tiring). The lighter weights were good for me on bench as well, I only got up to about 75kg for 6, and 70 for 8 as my backoff sets with a pause. I struggled on the last few reps and had to take a 10 second breather between 6 and 7, but I got it up. Oh, I even did some wrist curls at 2kg to try and get those shitty little joints to know their role.

Good news, no thumb or wrist complaints. My lifts seemingly didn't go down really.

To try and keep some semblance of readiness during my 3 weeks in a wrist brace I did the following to try and minimize any strain on my wrist while still doing resistance training:
5 sets of pectoral machine (like a flye but with your elbows on pads and doing an adduction movement with no serious arm involvement)
5 sets of leg press
4 sets of leg curl
4 sets of back extension or glutes/hamstring raises
2 sets of neutral grip pullups (I can finally do pullups thanks to doing a lot of pullovers and losing 10 pounds from covid, and at neutral grip I don't feel any wrist strain at all really)
2 sets of high rep pullovers (surprisingly this was not an issue for my wrist)
4 sets of lateral raises on this "delts machine" where you press from your elbows up and basically do a seated lateral raise.
3 sets of decline situps (like -15 degrees)

So my arms and shoulders are lagging a bit I'd wager, but not too badly.

 

[Mr Snrub]

Got a question for you guys, Why did you start lifting?

For me it was because I had to pass a physical fitness test (I was really unfit at the time) by the army and while I was ultimately rejected on medical grounds, there was a sense of pride and accomplishment at seeing the weights and reps go up

Purely for health benefit and to burn fat.

Used to be a skinny AF throughout school & university, ran roughly 20-30km a week, cycling then took over and easily 75km + a week. Was absolutely nothing to me though kept eating huge amounts just to keep myself going.

Finished education and ended up getting a full time job. 8-5 in the office + commuting, though still eating large amounts out of habit basically made me go from a size 30" waist to a 38" in the space of 3 years. Since cutting down on portions (and drinking less booze) during the pandemic and starting to lift at the gym (granted only been going for the past 6 months now) I've so far dropped back to 34" waist and never been this strong before in my entire life. Feels good man.

 

[Wesker]

Got a question for you guys, Why did you start lifting?

For me it was because I had to pass a physical fitness test (I was really unfit at the time) by the army and while I was ultimately rejected on medical grounds, there was a sense of pride and accomplishment at seeing the weights and reps go up

I was a chubby kid and lost all that weight when I became an adult and was made fun of by family members for then being too skinny. Then it became an addiction to look and feel strong.

And now in a time of weakness, the only choice is to be strong.

 

[Jasper2K]

It's funny how the kiwifarms is more supportive with weight lifting or weight loss than most sites on the internet.

 

[anustart76]

It's funny how the kiwifarms is more supportive with weight lifting or weight loss than most sites on the internet.

That's because working out is misogynistic, white supremacist, fascist, and, of course, fatphobic. (That first one might be satire, but I can't tell anymore)

 

[sadrefrigerator]

I can't get into proper starting position for deadlifts without back rounding. Decades of computer time have fucked up my body. Feels bad.

This is pretty common for new lifters, especially if you are fat. It usually works it self out as you get stronger and more flexible. You may need to start with the barbell at a higher location

 

[Big Al's Famous Pork]

Took my first swole selfies.
Feels fucking good man.

 

[realitysurf]

Got a question for you guys, Why did you start lifting?

For me it was because I had to pass a physical fitness test (I was really unfit at the time) by the army and while I was ultimately rejected on medical grounds, there was a sense of pride and accomplishment at seeing the weights and reps go up

My dad pressured me into lifting because I was a little fat shit lol. Really simple act that I am very grateful for.

 

[Danone]

I'm at a point where I eat nothing but vegetables and chicken broth so that I could be in a constant state of fat burning. Couple that with 2 hour gym sessions 6 days a week for 3 years now, I look like as if my muscle fibers are poking through my skin.

Now I can score that modeling gig I will never try out for.